SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Islamic State (ISIS) carried out two separate attacks against Iraqi federal police in Kirkuk province, Iraqi media reported on Saturday.
A security source told Shafaq News that the first attack took place in Riyadh district in southwest of Kirkuk, while the second was in Hawija district in west of Kirkuk.
The source added that there were casualties among the security forces, without giving further details.
The attacks came after ISIS militants attacked Peshmerga frontlines near Prde town, or Altun Kupri, south of Erbil early on Saturday.
The Kurdish forces managed to foil the attack, according to the Peshmerga ministry.
“A large number of ISIS militants were killed and their bodies were left,” the ministry said in a statement. “Sadly, there are martyrs and injuries among the Peshmerga forces.”
The ministry said it would provide further details.
A source in the Peshmerga force told Esta Media Network that three members of the Kurdish forces were killed and two others were wounded.
Elsewhere in Baqubah south of Kirkuk, an Iraqi officer and two soldiers were wounded after an explosion hit their patrol.
ISIS militants also attacked Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units in Naft Khana, northeast of Diyala province, wounding two PMF fighters.
Meanwhile, four members of the Iraqi forces were killed after an improvised explosive device hit a vehicle of the security forces in Tarmiyah district, north of Baghdad.
The federal government announced victory over Islamic State by the end of 2017 after Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led Coalition regained control of areas once captured by the militant group.
Despite its defeat, ISIS still poses a threat to the security and stability of the country as there are still sleeper cells in Iraq.
